May 19, 2015

• White House bans transfers of certain types of military-grade weaponry to local police departments.
• While Obama has retracted Bush's most creative unilateralism, the surveillance state remains off-limits.
• Historian argues the American presidency has always been an elected monarchy—we just don't call it that.
• State Dept. says review of Hillary Cliton's email won't be made public until Jan. 15, 2016.
• "Drilling the Chukchi is not a choice, say the adults in the room; it's an inevitability."
• Sunday's biker shootout in Waco was likely a territory dispute between gangs.
• With Obama on Twitter, threatening the president—which can get you five years and a fine of $250,000—just got easier.
• Drug courts, long hailed as a compassionate solution to addiction, often use bad science and put lives at risk.
• Thirty-two Danish citizens have collected nearly $58,000 in unemployment benefits while fighting in Syria.
• Public universities make more on tuition by replacing in-staters with out-of-state and international students.
• During New York's fiscal crisis of the '70s, police officers protested layoffs by launching a "Fear City" campaign.
• The booming fitness-tracking industry depends on people not knowing diet influences fitness more than exercise.
• Handing control to a fitness tracker can turn a holiday excursion into a battle of freewill.
• Maxim's rebrand in action: Its latest "Hot List" focuses on women's achievements, not their bodies.
• How, at a crucial moment in race depictions, the media has screwed up coverage of the Waco biker gangs.
• Potable water is getting scarce and bottled water is at peak popularity; ergo, stop drinking bottled water.
• PSA: Avoid caffeine powder; it's easy to overdose on what otherwise seems like a harmless substance.
• An explainer on venture capital, where risk brings reward and growth means death.